GTO versus GT2. That’s the mouthwatering prospect when, later this year, the most fabled initials in Ferrari history will go head to head with Porsche’s most feared and revered badge. Both firms are understood to be working on hardcore new models – in Ferrari’s case a very special 599, while Porsche is promising a lightweight RS version of the next generation GT2.

For Ferrari it will be the first time the GTO badge has been used since the 288 GTO went west a quarter of a century ago. During a recent interview with evo, Ferrari CEO Amedeo Felisa remarked that the company had changed the internal classification of its flagship 599 from being a ‘GT’ car to part of the ‘Sports Car’ division, alongside the newly launched 458 Italia. It’s this change that has allowed the development of a more extreme version of the 599, much in the same way that the Scuderia was developed from the standard F430.

The 599 GTO will effectively be a road-going version of the track-only $ 1.6million Ferrari 599XX and in terms of dynamics will sit well above the current 599 HGTE. Chiefly by raising the rev-limit of the 599’s Enzo-derived 6-litre V12 to 9000rpm, power has been boosted to a whopping 700bhp – an increase of 89bhp over the standard car.

And with quicker gearchanges (down from 100 milliseconds to around 60), expect the 0-100kph time to tumble from 3.7sec to around 3.2, while top speed (330kph in the 599 HGTE), could rise to an Enzo-rivalling 350kph. Which means there’s a very real chance the 599 GTO could be Ferrari’s fastest ever road car.

As we understand it, the body has been subtly changed from the standard model to give it a more aggressive look with extended gills on its flanks and a revised nose treatment with extended chin splitter. Inside, bare carbonfibre will be used for many of the major trim panels (including the door skins). Ferrari is promising potential customers a significant reduction in weight, so expect the kerb weight to drop around 100kg to sub-1600kg.

Behind the scenes, Ferrari has been contacting some of its most favoured customers to see if they would be interested in putting their name down for the GTO, details of which the company was hoping to keep secret until it released pictures just before the Geneva motor show

in March. There’ll be a total run of around 800, each priced at about $ 500,000, with deliveries expected to start as early as May.

Meanwhile a similar model repositioning is also behind the creation of the GT2 RS. Porsche’s head of development, Wolfgang Durheimer, told evo recently that he felt previous generations of the GT2 hadn’t distanced themselves enough from the standard Turbo models and this needed to change. As we understand it, this means the new GT2 has been developed not by the team responsible for the Turbo (as happened with the previous two iterations of GT2), but has reverted back to Porsche’s Motorsport division under the control of Andreas Preuninger, who was also responsible for the development of Porsche’s latest GT3 and RS models. And if that’s not a statement of future intent for the GT2, we don’t know what is.

As with the 599’s internal repositioning, this has allowed Porsche to consider the new model as a spiritual successor to the original ‘widow maker’, the wide-arched 430bhp 993 GT2 – a car that owed its very existence to motorsport homologation requirements.

Although it will employ twin turbos, the GT2 will not use the Turbo’s brand new direct-injection engine, but the motorsport-derived 3.8-litre, which will still develop somewhere north of 600bhp. In line with previous GT2s, this will be fed to the rear wheels alone, and through a six-speed manual gearbox rather than the PDK transmission. This does mean it’s unlikely to be as quick off the mark as the new Turbo, but you can still expect 0-100kph in around 3.5sec and a top end close to 335kph. Not far adrift of the Ferrari in other words…

The fact that the GT2 RS is likely to cost only a little more than half what Ferrari will charge for the GTO shouldn’t distract you from the fact these two could well be close rivals. 2010 has barely started and already it’s looking like a vintage year.